North Korea Congress: Kim Jong-un and the Workers Party

North Korea has said its ruling Workers Party will hold its first congress in nearly 40 years next month. North Korea leadership expert Michael Madden looks at what such a rare gathering might actually do.

If it hasn’t been held for almost 40 years, why hold it now?

This is when Kim Jong-un will finally formalise his own succession and set out his agenda. The build-up is part of the mystique and it is here that he will try to balance all the competing interests within the party, army and the state.

Image copyrightEPA/KCNA

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The announcement of a congress comes as Kim Jong-un is believed to be planning a fifth nuclear test